Gothenburg, July 11, 2023 – Elicera Therapeutics AB (publ) (“Elicera”), a clinical stage cell and gene therapy company developing next-generation therapies based on oncolytic viruses and CAR T-cells armed with bystander immune activating properties using the company’s commercially available platform iTANKTM, today announced that it has received a Communication under Rule 71(3) EPC (“Notice of Allowance”) from the European Patent Office in its European patent application relating to the use of the iTANKTM technology in CAR T-cell therapies.
The Communication means that the European Patent Office intends to grant the European patent application after the completion of certain formal steps. Once granted, the patent can be kept in force until 2036.
“We are very pleased to receive a Notice of Allowance in Europe for this important patent application as it adds significant value to our patent portfolio and strengthens the protection around one of our key assets, says Jamal El-Mosleh, CEO of Elicera Therapeutics.
For further information please contact:
Jamal El-Mosleh, CEO, Elicera Therapeutics AB
Phone: +46 (0) 703 31 90 51
jamal.elmosleh@elicera.com
About the iTANKTM platform
The iTANKTM technology platform has been developed for arming and enhancing CAR T-cells to meet two of the major challenges CAR T-cell therapies face in the treatment of solid tumors: tumor antigen heterogeneity and a hostile tumor microenvironment. The technology is used to incorporate a transgene into CAR T-cells encoding a neutrophil activating protein (NAP) from the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. NAP secreted from the CAR(NAP) T-cells has been shown to be able to enhance the function of CAR T-cells and importantly activating a parallel bystander immune response against the cancer via CD8+ killer T-cells. This is expected to lead to a broad attack against most antigen targets on cancer cells. The iTANKTM platform is used to enhance the company’s own CAR T-cells but can also be universally applied to other CAR T-cell therapies under development. Proof-of-concept data was published in Nature Biomedical Engineering in April 2022. The publication, titled “CAR T cells expressing a bacterial virulence factor trigger potent bystander antitumour responses in solid cancers” (DOI number: 10.1038/s41551-022-00875-5) can be found here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-022-00875-5. More information about iTANKTM platform is available here: https://www.elicera.com/technology
About Elicera Therapeutics AB
Elicera Therapeutics AB is a clinical stage cell and gene therapy company that develops next-generation therapies based on oncolytic viruses and CAR T-cells, armed with the company’s proprietary and commercially available platform, iTANKTM. The work is based on high-profile long-standing research conducted by Professor Magnus Essand's research group at Uppsala University and has resulted in the development of four drug candidates, including two CAR T-cells and two oncolytic viruses. The iTANKTM platform is used to arm the company's own CAR T-cells, in addition to the oncolytic virus ELC-201, but can also be universally applied to other CAR T-cell therapies under development. The company’s share (ELIC) is traded on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Erik Penser Bank has been appointed the Company's Certified Adviser.
For more information, please visit www.elicera.com